Iowa attorney general concerned about Latino home loan data

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says he’s concerned about a report showing Latinos seeking home loans in Iowa City were far more likely to be denied than whites.

Miller says the findings by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting seem consistent with an earlier University of Iowa study that documented home loan denial rates for Latinos.

The analysis published last month found that Latinos applying for conventional mortgages in the Iowa City metropolitan area were nearly four times more likely to be denied than non-Hispanic whites in 2016, the widest disparity in the nation in 2016.

Miller says his office will look into the issue and “consider our options.” A spokesman declined to elaborate on what those options might be.

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission has said the findings are noteworthy, but that it doesn’t have the funding to investigate.

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